A Sinner's Child
by Ellen Tee
Summary: Once again, a plan is made to create the Philosopher's Stone and use its powers to turn the homunculi into humans. Only this time, it's not Edward Elric that the homunculi are after.
1. Sinful Guardian

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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An old lady sat on a throne, elevated on a dias, glaring down at her pawns. They were all seated in wooden chairs, which were arranged into a semicircle around the dias, and glared back with forced respect, which looked more like hatred than anything. She nodded her head to an empty chair on the far right and growled, "I found Greed's bones in the hallway. That means that there was an intrusion on our home. And I think you all know the intruder was." The pawn's expressions didn't change.

The woman continued, "That boy is of no use to us. He only causes trouble, and he refuses to create the stone even after we threatened his brother. I want him dead."

One of the pawns raised her delicate hand. The woman nodded towards her. "You have something to say, Lust?"

The beauty called Lust swallowed harshly, afraid of her master. Pushing her fears of torture out of her mind, she spoke confidently. "Master, why not let the boy live?"

The old woman raised her brows. This she had not expected. Lust was not the motherly type. Looking around all of her pawns, she laughed as she realized none of them were. All of them were wearing solemn faces, ignoring her unexplained laughter, and sitting still. All except for the smallest pawn, Wrath. He had the mind of a child, though was deadly in combat. The old woman feared him the least though, just because he was so easily manipulated.

Lust had not continued in her feline-like suave voice, so the old woman snapped, "And why is that, Lust?"

All the while, the pawn had thought up her explanation and made a little speech. Clearing her throat, she began, "Although the Fullmetal boy will not create the Philosopher's Stone for us, perhaps another will. The boy is in love with a girl from his hometown, and if we are patient, they could get married."

Another pawn rudely interrupted, his voice sarcastic. "Oh, what a happy ending for the Fullmetal pipsqueak. Do I get to go to the wedding?"

Lust contained her rage and calmly turned to her associate, purring, "I wasn't finished, Envy. As I was saying, if we allowed the two humans to get married, perhaps they would have offspring."

Envy was about to make another remark, but the old woman gave him a severe look and he instantly shut-up. The old woman nodded to Lust, who continued.

"Offspring from Edward Elric. Imagine their alchemic capabilities! We could let the baby be born, annihilate Fullmetal and his wife, and take the baby. Of course, the child would never be allowed to leave these grounds," with that, Lust gestured around her, indicating the mansion they were presently in. "But if we made it think that we were its parents, its masters, we would have a human to do our bidding, and it wouldn't know the difference between right and wrong. The possibilities would be endless!"

Lust was so worked up that she was breathing hard. The old woman sat in her chair, eyeing the gathering around her. Six Sins left. Six deadly Sins from the alchemic taboo of human transmutation. Six slaves who were almost useless to her, concerning the topic of immortality. She liked Lust's idea. The human would serve as an alchemic dummy until the day it died. From there, they would figure things out.

Carefully, the old woman stood, followed by the Sins. She started to hobble out of the large open room they were located in when she paused. Turning to the Sins, she muttered, "The child will need a primary guardian. Although I want you all to help, I would like a mother," looking at the male Sins, "or father figure. Decide among yourselves. I need my rest now. I'm not to be disturbed for the rest of the day." Then, she walked out of the room.

As soon as she had departed, the Sins talked among themselves in hushed voices:

"Damn that Dante," snarled Envy. "I am not taking care of _his _grand-kid."

"When he comes, can I eat him, Lust?" asked the large fat Sin called Gluttony.

Lust sighed and patted his head. "No, Gluttony. You can't. If you do, Master will not be very happy."

Gluttony trembled, and his round body shook.

"I want to take care of him," cooed the other female sin, "but I'm afraid that I'll accidently kill him."

"Why do you assume it will be a 'he,' Sloth?" asked Lust.

"Well," said the other sin, "Edward is a boy, so talking about his child makes me think of a boy."

"How do you even know there will be a child?" growled Envy.

"There will be," retorted Lust. "Give it time."

"Master does not have much time," the phony Fuhrer Sin Pride replied. "Master is slowly decaying, like a dead body."

Wrath piped up. "She is a dead body! She's so nasty!"

All of the adult Sins quickly hushed him, looking around to make sure that their master hadn't heard. The coast was clear. Lust let out a big sigh. Sloth bent down to level with Wrath and smiled. "Wrath, the grown-ups are talking now. Why don't you go play or something?"

Putting a pout on, Wrath complied with Sloth's wishes. He had made her his mother, and believed that she was. He loved her so dearly. Trotting out of the room, he escaped to the courtyard to watch the many colored birds fight over seed.

"We haven't gotten much accomplished," stated Pride grimly.

Envy laughed. "Yeah, we did. Wrath is gone. I'm happy."

"Maybe you need to learn some motherly instincts," said Lust threateningly.

"It was your idea, genius. Why don't you take care of him," He returned.

The Sins turned to face her. Envy had a point, for once. And it wasn't as though she hated humans. She just wasn't on good terms with them for bringing her back in a doll form. And for the way they exiled her after they had created her, like it was her fault. Taking care of a child wouldn't be too bad. She could train it like a dog to treat her with respect.

Putting her slender hands up in defeat, Lust said, "You've got me. I will take care of the child until it can wing it." She glared at Envy. "But wouldn't it be nice if you learned some manners and motherly skills?"

"I have no intention of ever being a mother!" Envy snorted.

And that was how the conversation ended. The plan was decided, the mother figure determined. All that had to be done was to put the plan in action. It would take many years of waiting, but the Sins were willing, waiting quietly for their revenge and their chance to become human. But they had a long, long wait.

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Edward! No! Run away with Winry before they get you. Ain't that creepy though. Imagine, some stalker predicting your marriage and child, and planning on killing you and nabbing the kid... scary. Where did I come up with this crap? No idea. Sounds like another story I read, only this is going in a different direction, okay? Different cup of tea. Hell, different teapot! Hell, why not make it coffee and tea. But when you break it down, it's all a drink... I make no sense, no? Haha... ... ... ... -cough-

Please review. Until I have a good amount of reviews, I don't continue the story.


	2. Memories of a Lamenting Man

Disclaimer: Still, I own nothing.

-.- hey. Thanks for the reviews.

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"Oh... look at him Edward. I think he's finally sleeping," the young, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, woman directed towards the man standing beside her. "He's so beautiful."

"Yeah," came the one-worded answer. He gazed at the year-old child peacefully slumbering in a wooden crib. Edward had made the crib for his baby, using alchemy to decorate it with carven dragons, horses, children, and the such. He had made it the moment they had found out that Winry was pregnant. He had also proceeded to paint the room baby-blue and get dark curtains to block out unruly light. Winry had only known for the baby two days, when all of the preparations had been made.

Slowly backing out of the doorway, Winry beckoned Ed to follow suit, and soon they were silently shutting the door. They heard the tumblers fall into place and let out a sigh. Tonight, they might be able to sleep. They had been up almost every night, feeding the baby, burping the baby, changing the baby, cuddling the baby.

Edward looked to Winry and could tell she was suffering from sleep deprivation. Her eyes had rings under them and her hair was disheveled. He sighed. She was still the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid eyes on.

The couple walked down the staircase in utter silence. They headed for the kitchen, Winry heading towards the coffee pot. She gave a 'do you want some' look to Ed and he nodded. It was his turn to stay up and feed the child.

He groaned and mumbled, "Winry, that child is the best thing that's ever happened to use. It's a blessing. But it's killing me!"

She laughed humorlessly and responded, "Me too. But he's so precious. Caffeinated, right?"

"Wha? Oh, yeah, sure. Coffee. Yeah, caffeinated. You get some rest."

"Are you sure?" She studied his face intensely. "Maybe you need to get the rest. You have rings under your eyes."

"I could say the same thing for you."

Winry laughed again, this time truly. "Alright. But don't work yourself too hard. I know you're still practicing putting on a diaper."

Ed groaned. "Why can't I just use alchemy?"

"Because, it would scare the baby. And it's no fair that _I _can't," Winry retorted, sounded childish.

Edward left it at that. He wasn't in the mood to argue with his wife. They were both irritable and a disagreement so petty could last for hours. Or at least until they collapsed from exhaustion.

Winry gently placed a mug on the wooden table that Ed was sitting at and left the room without another word. He watched her go before taking a sip. The taste didn't agree with his tongue, but coffee kept him awake long enough to-

He let out a big yawn.

Taking another sip, he heard a knock on the door. The little wall clock in the kitchen read 3 o'clock in the morning. Wondering who it could be, Edward hoisted himself from his chair and went to answer the door. Rubbing his eyes, he undid the flimsy lock and opened the door mumbling, "What do you want?"

A sharp pain was felt in his shoulder and he dropped his mug to grab at it. The mug shattered and he screamed in pain as another wave of pain passed through his shoulder again. He looked up at the intruder and saw Lust, standing there with her fingers dug into his left shoulder.

Edward's eyes flashed with rage and he grabbed the needle-like fingers, breaking one in two. Lust scowled and contained her pain.

Quickly, Edward fell back into the house, transmuting his arm into a blade, and shouted a warning up to Winry. He felt a pain in his stomach and looked down to see more of her fingers had impaled him. Ed gasped for breath. The wind had been knocked out of him, and with each breath, pain washed over him.

Taking control of his hurt, Edward managed to shout up again to Winry and take a stab at Lust's fingers. They pulled out of his flesh just in time to be saved from amputation.

Edward fell to the ground and tried to pull himself back up. Lust looked down at him with cold sympathy. Sympathy from a person who only pretends to care. She whispered, "Sorry, boy. But we'll be taking your child."

Eyes flashing in anger, Ed jumped to his feet and began to wildly stab at the Sin. He was angry, so his blows were stonger. But they also had more momentum, which made recovery time shorter and time he was left open, longer.

Lust just kept dodging like it was nothing. After a minutes, Ed was breathless, whilst Lust had conserved her energy and was ready to finish the job she had set out to do.

Edward was on his hands and knees panting. A terrible fear was consuming him. He felt so helpless. At least he had warned Winry. She had probably gotten the child and herself far away from here by now. He swallowed and felt a salty tear stream down his cheek. There was a lump in his throat and he tried swallowing again. No good. Instead, he coughed.

Carefully, Lust positioned her finger around Ed's throat, so at any given moment, a quick execution could be accomplished. She wanted to tell the Fullmetal boy something before she killed him, but only if he cooperated. Bending down, Lust breathed, "We aren't going to kill your precious baby, boy. We need him. Can you tell me his name?"

Edward grinded his teeth. His eyes were filled with hatred. He spat in her face.

Lust wiped away the abomination with her free hand. She didn't act angry, but inside was completely furious. She wanted to pulverize him the most brutal way possible. But she resisted. Lust was about to apply pressure to Edward's neck when she heard a gunshot go off and felt blood trickle down her face. She turned to see a frightened young woman, presumably Edward's wife.

"Winry, why are you here! Run! Please, take Collin with you and run!" he pleaded.

By his reaction, Lust could tell she was right in her assumption. And now she knew the child's name. Edward Elric had no more value to her. With a simple, deliberate motion, she ended his life.

Winry screamed as she saw Ed get decapitated by a figure whom she had just shot in the head. She wanted to run to him and save his body, but she also felt she should run and save the child. Or should she fight? Deciding on the later, Winry fired two whole rounds into the figure's head. The figure ignored them just like a horse does flies, and continued to slowly advance.

Fear gripped Winry and she dropped her only defense and ran, heading toward's the baby's room. The door knob was in reach. Winry extended her hand and turned the knob. The baby was in sight. Running towards him, she reached the crib... to find it was empty. The window was open, the curtains swaying in the breeze. Winry screamed. Frantically, she looked out the window and saw two male silhouettes getting into a car. She then saw the figure that had been chasing her get into the car. Then, they sped off.

Sprinting out of the baby's room, Winry practically leapt the stairs. When she reached the bottom however, she realized to her horror that the house was in flames. Her exit was blocked. She was doomed to burn alive.

Crawling over to Ed's body, she cuddled it as silent tears ran down her face. She heard the structure crackle as it caught fire, and thought of jumping from the second story. Gathering up Edward's head, she coughed and choked as she searched for the stairs. Finding them, she raced up them. Unaware that they were on fire below and unsafe, she ascended them without caution. And they collapsed.

Winry was staked by a wooden board, and she slowly slid down it, watching Edward's head roll away. Her vision became fuzzy as she felt flames lick her. Or was she already on fire. It didn't matter. She was doomed.

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"That thing is absolutely disgusting," snapped Envy as the baby let some dribble slide out of its mouth.

Lust ignored the comment and began to tickle the child with the fingers she had used to kill its father. The baby giggled, unaware of the tragedy that had just taken place. Smiling down at him, Lust cooed, "I'm your mommy now, Collin. But it doesn't mean you'll be able to slack off."

"Collin?" shrieked Envy. "Now you're naming the bastard?"

Eyeing him icily, Lust continued to play with the child. The three of them, Lust, Pride, and Envy, were seated in a spacious car, Pride driving. They had waited six years for this moment, and now their master was desperately weak. She still had quite a bit more waiting, but now the child was in their hands.

The car went over a bump and the baby started to cry. Lust rocked him and Envy gave it venomous looks. It was an uncomfortable situation, and Pride was trying to stay the silent chauffeur. The car glided along smoothly the rest of the way to the designated meeting place, where the homunculus were to ditch their car and hop into a new one, to throw off any military intelligence. No doubt that there'd be a nation wide search for the baby of Edward Elric, hero and savior of the people.

The new car was less spacious, to all of the homunculus's disliking. They didn't complain, however. Even in her weakened state, their master could still destroy them all. And that was the last thing they wanted now that they were so close to the Philosopher's Stone.

The homunculus positioned themselves for the long, boring car ride. It would take nearly a full day of driving. With a _baby_. It took only thirty minutes for the crying, an hour for the bad smell, and three for Envy to lose his temper.

It took the power of both Lust and Pride to calm Envy down, and Pride almost veered off of the road. The fact the shapeshifter's temper was already short did not make the task of transporting the child any easier. Their master could have assigned another to the task, but she had been in a foul mood of recent. She was grumpy and sending the angriest Sin of all was her way of revenge.

"Damn that old lady," screamed Envy, ripping out part of his seat cushion. He then proceeded to tear that piece up into shreds.

The baby only cried louder. It was as though Envy and Collin were seeing who could make the most noise. The cursing grew more frequent and the wailing grew louder. Up front, Pride gripped the stearing wheel tightly, his knuckles white. The car began to move jerkily.

"Envy! Be quiet! You're scaring him!" raged Lust.

Envy retorted, "Your death claws aren't exactly fluffy and nice!"

"Well at least I'm not trying to make Pride crash the car!"

"I'm not either!"

The car swerved off of the road and Pride managed to dodge a large pine. He stopped the car completely, now that danger was out of the way. Not that the homunculi were in any danger, but the human baby was a rather delicate sack of meat. Swiveling around to face the backseat, he shouted, "If I crash, and that baby dies, the master will _kill _us!" he emphasized the word 'kill.' Then he continued to shout, "So put aside your squabbling for a few more hours so this human can be safely brought to master's house! I will not be blamed for your incompetence!"

The backseat was silent. Pride seemed pleased with himself as he maneuvered the car back onto the road and started going again. The rest of the ride to the mansion was uneventful and rather blissfully, silent.

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It took all of an hour for Colonel Roy Mustang to hear that Edward Elric's charred bones had been found, his head disconnected from his body. And Winry's bones beside his, impaled on a burnt black support.

It took all of two and a half hours for Colonel Roy Mustang to hop a train to Resembool with a highly specialized investigations team, who had trained their whole lives for a case like this.

It took all of five seconds for Colonel Roy Mustang to start crying like a child. All the way there, he was silent, sitting opposite the beautiful First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. She knew he was crying, but pretended to ignore it. The fact the Flame Alchemist, Colonel Roy Mustang was crying, would do his pride no honor. But if Roy had cared about his pride more than the death of Edward, would he be crying?

After departing the dreary train ride, Roy dreaded going to see the remains of his dear friend. But having Riza there gave him courage to keep going, and he lead his investigations team to the house that he had so long ago memorized the route to. Memories flooded him.

The time Edward had needed his automail fixed up when he actually grew an inch. The automail shop was set on a green hill, dotted with maples and oaks. A large black dog with a comical expression trotting out to meet visitors.

The death of Edward's guardian, Pinako Rockbell, age seventy-nine. The simple headstone which had, 'mother, grandmother, friend, guardian, best mechanic ever' engraved into it.

The ending of Edward and Alphonse's search for the Philosopher's Stone. Moving in with Winry and the automail shop. The beginning of their romantic relationship.

The wedding of Winry and Edward was clear in his mind. The beautiful white flowers, Winry's gown, Alphonse standing as Edward's best man, the look on Edward's face as they kissed and were pronounced husband and wife.

The excited telephone call from the hospital at one in the morning, from Ed, who was screaming that he had a son, and his name was Collin. The memory of the little bundle that brought one man so much joy. A helpless package that the miracle of life brings.

Riza snapped Roy out of his wonderful memories by saluting and saying softly, "We're here, sir. This is... the Elric's residence."

An ensign snorted. "Or what's left of it."

Roy turned to the man and had half a mind to unleash flames onto him. He was too depressed to do so, however. Walking through what used to be the doorway, he made his way through the charred rubble, gazing teary eyed at all of the wreckage. It was a disaster. Edward had only been twenty-one when he had died. Winry even younger. And their baby...

A tear slid down Roy's cheek and his shoulder's tightened as he suppressed more. Riza reached out to comfort him, but he held his hand up to stop her. Riza understood.

Grimly walking over to the already present intelligence team, Roy asked, "Have you confirmed the cause of death of the three victims yet?"

"What do you mean?" queried a younger officer.

Roy pinched the bridge of his nose. "How did Edward die?"

The younger man looked over some notes. Sighing, he responded in a low voice, "Decapitation, sir."

"Winry?" tried Riza.

She was unauthorized to ask this, but the officer answered anyway. "We are unsure of the cause of death. She was impaled by that support beam," he motioned to a large, blackened, wooden support beam sitting on a table the IT (Intelligence Team) had set up. "But was also on fire. We are working right now to figure out which-"

Roy covered his ears. He didn't want to hear the rest. Almost to afraid to ask, Roy said, "And what of the infant?"

The man scanned his notes again. Shaking his head he apologized. "I'm sorry, sir. There wasn't any child's corpse."

"So... so that means..?"

"Yes sir," said the officer. "The child is still alive."

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Next chapter, we fast forward a little. - you guys realize how OLD Mustang is getting in my fic, right? I mean, he's starting to wrinkle! Well, not yet, at least. But very soon!

I'm very sorry for the angsty, depressing:o( chapter, but they had to go sometime! -.- I be no good at angst. -sigh-

Please **review**! -

And any comments to improve the plot, please let me know!


	3. Lessons of Life

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"Mistress, may I go outside to the gardens?" asked a weak voice.

"Have you finished your lessons?" came the reply.

"...No."

"Then you know the answer."

"Yes mistress."

A seven year-old boy trotted away from the high-backed chair that his mother was seated in, heading towards a cold oak coffee table. It was on resting on a golden Drachman rug and sat beside one of the new manufactured couches from the Northern Republic. It's woven patterns of black and blue twisted around in spirals on the cushions and hurt your head after looking at tem for too long.

The room that all of this was located in was the secondary living room, off of the kitchen with a stair case leading from it. It was on the main floor of the three-floored mansion. The floor matched the coffee table, being made of a lightly stained oak. The walls were painted deep blue with gold framed oil paintings surrounding the focal point of the room, which happened to be the high-backed chair, the couch, the rug, and the coffee table. Another chair was sitting by the coffee table, but it was presently unoccupied.

Upon the couch rested the boy's lesson books. That was his least favorite part of the day, lessons. They were boring and he saw no reason why he couldn't abandon them and run free in the may gardens around the mansion.

As he seated himself upon an overstuffed cushion, he replaced the lesson book on his lap and read:

_**ISHBAL **is a country east of Amestris. It's people worship Ishbala. A terrible war took place there when an Ishbalan attacked a Amestrian soldier and he accidently shot a child. This caused unruliness among the people and Amestris tried to peacefully reinforce the laws, but Ishbal resisted. Now Ishbal is an independent republic of its own._

Everything the boy had read was required to be previewed by his ladyship and his mistress. They said it was for his own good. Out of curiosity, the boy had stolen and read a book that he had been denied. It was called an 'encyclopedia' and he had read something different in the ISHBAL category. The boy decided that he would be wicked and read it later and compare it with his lesson book.

Pushing it out of his mind for the time being, the boy flipped the page and stared down at the page in front of him. It displayed men in blue uniforms, clutching there body's in pain.

_**WAR **is a period of time when two or more countries are enemies. All trade stops and casualties are common. Wars are won with an army. An army is comprised of privates, lieutenants, brigadier generals, generals, and captains. Amestris has a program called the 'State Alchemists.' These individuals use alchemy for the state._

The boy's mother glanced across to see what her boy was reading. Her eyes widened and she instantly stood and raced across the room, snatching the book from the child. He looked up at her with question.

"Collin, in case you didn't see, this is the lesson book for you in four years, not now. We don't wish to... _expose _you to these things yet. Why, you _do _look rather pale. I've decided to end lessons early. Run along outside."

Collin glanced uneasily at his mother. She smiled warmly and he smiled back, running outside. He reserved a seat on the white-painted metal bench the was below the honeysuckle trellis, enjoying the sweet wafting smell.

Carefully, Collin removed his blue wool jacket and placed it on the bench next to him. His white dress shirt was light weight and perfect for the summer weather. Quickly, the boy clambered to peel his shoes and stockings off. After that, he wriggled his toes, letting them air out. He hated being cooped up on such a beautiful day.

This was the way Collin had always known. He had never had any friends. He was isolated in a large mansion out in the middle of nowhere, living with adults. Even so, ever so often, something would feel wrong. As though, what he was doing wasn't natural. But this didn't make any sense to the boy because all he had ever known was inside the borders of the property. It was hard for him to imagine another country...

As soon as the boy was literate, the adults had set the rules down and enforced them with an iron fist. The rules were:

a) no going beyond the property borders

b) avoid seeing the ladyship unless called upon

c) always run everything by mistress

d) failure to comply results in varying degrees of punishment

Collin... had never seen another child before.

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Lust trudged towards the golden plated doors. Her boots squeaked as she dragged them across the floor. She didn't want to tell her master that she had... the consequences would be... that child... why..? A timid knock on the door was reacted to by to sharp bark of 'Come in,' from the other side. Lust pushed the door open, her hair bouncing softly against her shoulders and flopping onto her bottom.

"Why do you disturb me now, Lust?" said an old woman seated in a royal cherry wood chair, entwined with copper.

"I... Master, I didn't... it just..."

"What is it you fool? Tell me, now!" The harsh words made the feminine sin cringe.

"I, not purposely, mind you, let Collin examine a higher level lesson book..."

A twitch set upon the master's cheek and she rose from her chair. "You despicable creature! If he learns of pain, he will learn of everything! He must be kept ignorant! I thought that I made that clear to you!"

The master clapped her hands and placed them on Lust's tattoo. Lust cringed in pain, her face contorting, trying to fight the fire traveling through her veins pulsing, racing, like a stream of lava flowing through her. The burning sensation reached her head and she stood rigid, her mass feeling jelly-like and unstable, as though melting was a near possibility.

Like a pained animal, the master retracted her hands, bringing them swiftly to her sides and straightening up. Her eyes flashed in anger as the sin greedily gulped down air, trying to get the pain out of her system. Sneering, the old woman said, "You know what happens if you disobey me again, Lust."

Nodding her ego-damaged face, she said quietly, "Yes, I know, Master. Death."

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Collin pushed his shiny golden bangs out of his eyes as he sat up to greet his mother. He hugged her and looked up into her eyes. Sensing something was wrong, he asked, "Why aren't you happy, Mistress?"

A silence.

"Because I love you."

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And he's going to be their human transmutation monkey! He's not going to love her if he finds out the truth! (You killed my pappy!) You'l just have to review like crazy to find out.

Me likey reviews. REVIEWS EQUAL UPDATES!


	4. A New Lead

Disclaimer: I don't own nothing (haha, double negative...) I don't not own nothing no day of any week. (Haha, triple negative) I don't don't not not own not nothing no day of any week (haha, 7X negative!)

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Roy Mustang was disturbed greatly. All evidence pointed to that fact that the child was alive. Yet searching for six and a half years hadn't gotten him any closer to solving this mystery than being promoted to Colonel had to Fuhrer. Supposedly, the IT had new evidence almost every week, but if that were so, why hadn't they identified Edward Elric's killer! Glowering over his paperwork, (that god forsaken paperwork!) he launched his empty coffee mug towards the wall, watching shatter. It vented some of his anger, some of his frustration.

At that moment, that oh-so-perfect moment, Hawkeye chose to waltz in through the door to complain about incorrectly filed _paperwork_ (that god forsaken paperwork!). She was met with some important documents (that god forsaken paperwork!) flying at her face, scattering all over the floor. Silently, the woman did her duty of stacking it and replacing on the Colonel's desk, only to be disappointed by the discovery that his coffee mug was in pieces on the floor and a half-dozen empty beer bottles lay hidden under the desk.

"Sir..." she said quietly.

"What is it with you and your paperwork! Can't you see I'm busy? I'm doing something else! This is not productive, Hawkeye! If you knew how much work there is to do-"

"Sir... you really shouldn't use alcohol to solve your problems."

He sat quiet.

"You're right."

He slumped into his chair and seemed to doze off for a second, but started abruptly when Hawkeye softly said, "Sir?"

"There's just no other way, Hawkeye. I just can't..."

"Sir, I also came in here to tell you that the Fuhrer himself has given you a month of leave to collect yourself. He says you're working too hard on this case and it's driving one of his best alchemists over the edge."

"That sounds nice..." Mustang said, his head lolling to is side.

Hawkeye realized that that was all she was going to get out of this conversation and proceeded to get a wool blanket from the closet in Roy's office. She covered him with it and murmured, "I guess I'm going to stay late again..."

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_Attachment is a human thing._ Yet, as she fingered the child's, silky golden hair, she could not help wonder if her memories clouded her actions as a homunculus. Her master had made it clear. The child was an instrument. Nothing more.

Collin was sprawled across the blue and black couch that had been his first work area. He had since been moved into the alchemy room to learn new lessons. Alchemy fascinated Collin. All he did was copy a transmutation circle from a book and it could change anything he wanted. Whenever he asked 'why', he was told that it was magic. Not believing it, but not wanting to disagree, it was always left at that.

For the past few hours, Wrath had been occupying the gardens. Destroying them, more like. He trampled flowers and had disregard for the amounting number of 'keep off grass' signs. Collin would have preferred to nap outside, but his disinterest of communication kept him inside. So, the couch it was.

Carefully, ever so quietly, Lust ran a soft, manicured hand down the child's smooth cheek. She wished that this could have been hers. The faint glimpses of memories, her past lover, her passion, her love for children. She was despicable. Such humanly things. And yet, even after the cruel and daunting knowledge that this whim was awkward and impossible, she wanted it more. Her twisted mind playing around the thoughts of what might have been. And then, she glanced at the child before her and grew more protective. It was her child.

Seeing Collin's soft eye-lashes flutter, Lust withdrew her hand and silently backed away, unnoticed.

Collin shook his head and rubbed his cheek. It tingled like someone had lightly brushed it while passing. Glancing about the dust covered room, Collin sought the culprit. To his distress, he found no intruder and became anxious, his distorted brain returning over the neurotic thought that some _stranger_ had invaded his personal space. Spinning around wildly, he knocked a glass figurine off of the table. It shattered instantly.

Quickly bending over, Collin tried picked up the pieces, only to nick his fingers on the sharp diamond-like shards. He gasped, placing his fingers in his mouth, sucking the scarlet drops of blood. Calming himself, he drew a transmutation circle around the entirety of the figurine and put his free hand on it. It self-repaired, much to Collin's relief, and he gingerly placed it back on the table.

He was dismayed to find that when he removed his finger from his mouth that it still had a small shard of glass in it. Carefully, he used his opposite hand to squeeze the nuisance from his tender flesh. It came out quite painlessly, slick with blood. Not knowing what to do with it, he threw it under the couch.

At that moment, Envy walked into view from the hallway, an irritated look on his face. He stopped at the edge of the room and barked, "I heard a crash."

Collin said nothing.

"What did you break?" he said, a menacing look on his face.

Timidly pointing to the figurine, he looked for Envy's reaction. It seemed indifferent. Placing his hands nonchalantly into his pockets, Envy shrugged and left the room.

------------------------------------

The phone rang.

For a moment, Riza Hawkeye glared at it.

The second ring, Riza Hawkeye rid herself of annoyance.

The third, she picked up the set and said in a secretarial voice, "Hawkeye, Colonel Mustang's office. Go ahead."

The other line was breathless. "We got one! You... you better hurry! Send the Colonel! Hold him men! He's... We got at least twenty men holding him down! Hurry!"

"What is your location? Do we need arms?"

"The warehouse on 43rd, between the farmer's market and factory. And yes ma'am! My boys would love some hardware."

"I will report this to the Colonel immediately. What is 'this' by the way?"

"One of those seven who are wanted. The homuncalus... er the homanculas."

Hawkeye inhaled sharply. "Are you sure?"

"No doubt. But hurry! He's nearly impossible to hold! Dammit, I said bind him to the-"

Slamming the receiver down, Hawkeye instinctually placed the nonexistent strand of loose hair behind her eye and moved towards Mustang, who had since sobered up. He knew from her expression that something had finally happened. A lead had been made, or found. Hawkeye nodded to confirm his growing suspicion and simultaneously, they head for the door.

Growling playfully, Hawkeye scoffed, "You know that I'm not on duty right now, right sir?"

"Then you'd best head home, Riza."

"I'm volunteering my services, so it's First Lieutenant Hawkeye. At least until we're off of work." Examining his rough face, she said, "My god, you _do _need a vacation."

---------------------------------

His violet eyes, dilated. Pulse quickened. Heart pounding. Flight or fight mode. Fear.

"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!"

The constant wail ongoing for about ten minutes.

"Sir, he's only a child."

"Did you not see what he did to Mansley? I want him tied down and incapacitated!"

The homunculus thrashed about transmuting his arm into a watery substance, trying to evade their harsh tethers. Collecting his small form, he created a blade and sprinted towards the exit. Plowing the guards away, he blew the door open.

_Snap._

An explosion of flames engulfed the child.

In walked Colonel Mustang, his confidence radiating. His face was serious, though, and he quickly commanded all attention. With a sharp bark he managed to assemble the remaining soldiers and organize them. He explained slowly, carefully, never stumbling, "That _thing _is not human. That _thing _is not a child. And that _thing _is not dead."

Nervous eyes shifted to the pile of ash and charred bone lying useless on the floor, unbelieving that 'it' was not dead. Would it even _want _to be alive after that?

Mustang continued. "What I want is for someone to keep constant watch on him, and any signs of resurrection are to be followed up by a quick and sure death. I need the IT down here, so have them radioed in. Also call for Fullme- never mind. Call in the Wind Alchemist. I think he may be able to help."

Glancing towards Hawkeye, he grinned. "I think we have them, Riza."

She was about to correct him, but only smiled back. Things were finally looking up.

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I was thinking that Mustang and Hawkeye are going to be just good friends in this fic, so like, yeah. Anything that sounds... suggestive... is merely them being... corny. So... yeah. Please, review. bows

Oops! I just read my disclaimer and all of the negatives totaled at 8, which is even, which means I own FMA! -extra negative appears- Nevermind.


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